Progress? Try these numbers

Throug four games of the Pac-12 season, Oregon has improved its shooting from the nonconference portion of the schedule. The Ducks shot .449 in 12 games before the Pac-12, and is shooting .457 in four conference games .

Those numbers are also up for three-pointers (..354 to .365) and free throws (.681 to .694).

Oregon is also averaging 1.8 rebounds more than opponents in conference games, which is also an improvement over the nonconference performance.

Obviously, four games isn't quite enough to establish a definite statistical trend, but it's a sign of progress.

Ducks held their Wednesday practice starting at 7 a.m. The early start was a combination of things, but largely the result of it being the only available time that worked with the travel schedule.

The conference rule is a team can't work out at the site of a road game the day before, to discourage teams from traveling too early in the day and missing more classes. So to get in a Wednesday practice, the Ducks couldn't work out at their normal afternoon time, with a flight scheduled. A morning practice had to be early enough to allow players to attend classes before the departure.

There might even be more juggling of practice times next season, when alterations to the normal Thursday-Saturday (or Sunday) format are likely with the new TV schedule.

Bob Clark has covered Oregon basketball over a span of the past six head coaches, from Dick Harter to Dana Altman. He’s watched some of the biggest wins for the Ducks, a couple of trips to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and yes, also the most-lopsided loss ever recorded in McArthur Court.